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Shares of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) are higher after a Hollywood Reporter story that said that "WWE's Smackdown is being shopped to various networks after [Comcast's (CMCSA, CMCSK)] NBCUniversal -- whose USA Network airs the highly rated pro wrestling matches -- declined to re-up its deal." SMACKDOWN OPEN TO BIDDING: According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Smackdown franchise is available to bidding as NBCU will be concentrating on renewing its agreement for Raw, another WWE wrestling franchise. According to the story, Raw "is expected to close at as much as three times its current value." ANALYST VIEW: Guggenheim analyst Curry Baker said he is keeping his Buy rating and $48 price target on WWE, noting he is "bullish" on the company's TV renewal prospects based on the terms about to be achieved by UFC. Baker says UFC is "on the verge" of renewing its TV right at over $350M in average annual value, which he calls a "baseline minimum" for WWE considering that its RAW and SmackDown programs provide more hours of content -- 260 vs. UFC's 105 -- and at much higher TV ratings than UFC. PRICE ACTION: Shares of World Wrestling Entertainment are up 15% to $50.21 per share in early afternoon trading.

23

May

WWEWWE

$50.30

6.72 (15.42%)

05/17/18

GUGG

05/17/18NO CHANGETarget $48GUGGBuy

WWE likely to see 'favorable' TV deal renewal terms, says Guggenheim

Guggenheim analyst Curry Baker is keeping his Buy rating and $48 price target on WWE, saying he is "bullish" on the company's TV renewal prospects based on the terms about to be achieved by UFC. Baker says UFC is "on the verge" of renewing its TV right at over $350M in average annual value, which he calls a "baseline minimum" for WWE considering that its RAW and SmackDown programs provide more hours of content - 260 vs. UFC's 105 - and at much higher TV ratings than UFC.

05/04/18

05/04/18DOWNGRADE

On The Fly: Top five analyst downgrades

Catch up on today's top five analyst downgrades with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Fluor (FLR) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Baird with analyst Andrew Wittmann saying his thesis was based on the early stage commodity cycle recovery and now he sees too few catalysts remaining in a difficult environment for industrials. 2. Diebold (DBD) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse with analyst Paul Condra saying he expects a longer turnaround to the story, and prefers a wait-and-see approach as the company's management team moves forward with another round of restructuring initiatives, the details of which have not yet been announced. 3. AMN Healthcare (AMN) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Baird with analyst Mark Marcon saying the boost from premium rate assignments appear to be slowing. 4. WWE (WWE) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Benchmark with analyst Mike Hickey citing valuation after the stock's 109% rise over the last year. 5. Colfax (CFX) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital with analyst Seth Weber citing material inflation in the A&GH segment, pressuring continued expansion in margins and organic revenue growth. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

05/04/18

SBSH

05/04/18NO CHANGETarget $43SBSHNeutral

WWE price target raised to $43 from $33 at Citi

Citi analyst Jason Bazinet raised his price target for WWE to $43 citing increased TV rights forecasts. The stock is allying as investors await announcements on TV rights renewals, Bazinet tells investors in a research note. At $41 per share, the market is pricing an 80% step up in TV rights, which is possible, the analyst estimates. He notes that average sports step up is 50%. The analyst keeps a Neutral rating on WWE.